Andrew Johanson
Impressionism & Fauvism
Emerging South Australian artist Andrew Johanson has been developing his own style and technique in recent years.
His work is somewhat reminiscent of the old masters of the impressionist era,
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Andrew enjoys using acrylic paint, impasto, pallet knives and brush to achieve mottled impressions of the subject matter. He describes it as, 'looking into the world through broken shards of glass'.
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His subjects tend to be of places he has seen and memories gone by. Digging deep into the sub-conscious he finds a imaginative story within.
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Being excited by colour and challenging the established idea are Andrew's ethos. A technique of thick application and liberally blended colours creates a controlled balanced approach in a somewhat chaotic but functional outcome.
Andrew has built upon the content of his works, experimenting with the challenges of portrait and vast coloured landscapes.
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There is a sense of balance, space and carefully modeled paint application, similar to that of sculpture. Close attention is paid to show colour can create depth and light, a challenge he embraces.
These works are still within Andrew's private collection. His intention is to continue his demonstration of these memories and produce more works for a strong exhibition in the near future. He is currently working on many canvas ideas and hopes to release them together.
Bright colours become somewhat illuminated and crisp once the varnish and leveling gel dries. Then one can truly see the finished product.
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The element of surprise is what Andrew finds similar to firing pottery or glass, Waiting in anticipation, guiding the subject to the best possible outcome.
Art related experience.
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Andrew attended high school at St Marks College in Port Pirie South Australia.
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Major influence came from the guidance and direction from his art teacher Paul Mathews. In 1992, Andrew would achieve a perfect score of 20 in art on the completion of year 12, being the only male student in South Australia to do so. He also completed the year designing the school magazine.
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With the aim of attending university to study art design teaching Andrew decided to complete another year of study at Port Pirie high school, under the watchful eye of Peter Hughes. Influential topics included thought provoking projects of artists and movements that 'challenged the established idea' and pose the question; 'what was an artists role in society?'.
During this period he focused on abstract ideas and art movements such as Dadaism, Post Impressionism and Fauvism. Subjects studied were Art, Design and Craft and he once again designed the school magazine.
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In 1994 Andrew attended University of South Australia Underdale campus studying Bachelor of Arts Diploma of Education of which he completed 3 years. His most favoured topics included ; Glass and clay sculpture, fabrication, painting & drawing from observation.
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A combination of such experiences have influenced Andrew's Impressionistic and Fauvist style, which has been maintained and demonstrated throughout his journey
Thank you for your interest and spending the time to discover a new and emerging artist.
In the near future you may see Andrew painting from observation around the Adelaide area or even at his anticipated exhibition in future.